A removal proceeding is a formal administrative process in immigration court to determine whether a non-citizen gets to remain in the United States.
There are over 70 immigration courts in all 50 states and U.S. territories, including Guam and Puerto Rico, and the Northern Marinas Islands.
Unlike criminal law and family law, which is state-specific, immigration law is entirely federal. This means the same law applies in Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, and Alaska, and every other state and territory.
Federal law in immigration cases means the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which Congress initially passed in 1952 but has amended multiple times over the past five decades. In addition to the INA, immigration judges must follow supporting regulations and court cases interpreting the INA and these regulations.
No two removal cases are the same because every non-citizen's specific case and background are different. Having said that, all removal cases have the same general format.
Stage 1: The Government serves you with a Notice to Appear
The Notice to Appear (NTA) is by far the most important document in the removal proceedings. It is the formal document explaining the legal and factual basis for why you should be removed from the United States.
The NTA, for example, notifies a lawful permanent resident that the Government is seeking to deport him because he pleaded guilty to committing a violent felony in King County Superior Court, when he was living in Seattle.
The NTA also informs you of your legal rights, such as the right to challenge your deportation and the right to have an attorney.
Think of the NTA as the legal equivalent of the initial charging document in a criminal case, such as the information or complaint.
Stage 2: The Government files the Notice to Appear in Immigration Court
Based its name, you would naturally assume that the NTA tells you when you have to appear in immigration court, but this is not the case.
U.S. immigration officials generally send you the NTA before they file it with the court.
In many cases, you will receive a second hearing notice with the time and place and information about the hearing. For example, you are required to appear in the Portland Immigration Court on March 1, 2026, but you can attend remotely.
In removal proceedings, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) prepares and files the NTA with the immigration court. DHS functions as the prosecutor for the Government.
Under federal law, you have the right to at least 10 days' notice of your initial hearing so you can hire an attorney.
Stage 3: Initial Master Calendar Hearing (maybe)
Your initial hearing—the hearing described in the NTA or subsequent hearing notice—is called a master calendar hearing. At this hearing, the immigration judge advises you of your rights, confirms whether you are challenging service of the NTA, and gives you determining whether you are admitting or denying the allegations against you.
Think of the master calendar hearing is the arraignment in a criminal case, where most defendants enter a not guilty plea.
Since 2021, however, immigration courts have been moving away from initial hearings if the respondent (i.e., the non-citizen facing removal proceedings) is not detained in custody.
If you have an attorney, the immigration court will vacate the initial hearing and issue a scheduling order that sets forth the deadlines for filing pleadings and other motions. You and your attorney can still request a master calendar hearing, but it is no longer automatic as it was before.
Stage 4: Filing Pleadings
In most removal proceedings, this is the most important stage of the case because it goes a long way to determining whether you will win or lose.
In other words, based on these pleadings, the immigration judge will either enter a removal order or terminate the case in your favor.
In general, you will have 30 days to submit written pleadings after the immigration court has entered a case schedule. Then DCS will have 20 days to file a response.
You may, for example, argue that the NTA is procedurally defective because the alleged conduct does not constitute a basis for removability. If you prevail on this motion, the immigration judge may terminate (i.e., dismiss) removal proceedings.
Stage 5: Filling Applications for Relief (maybe)
In addition to issuing a scheduling order, the immigration court will also set deadlines for filing any applications for relief. In general, you will have an additional 60 days to file any relief applications.
Unlike responsive pleadings that focus on the Government's evidence, applications for relief focus on the non-citizen's individual circumstances or specific background.
Common forms of relief include asylum and cancellation of removal.
You are eligible for asylum, for example, if you have suffered persecution in your home country based on race, religion, political opinion, or nationality.
Asylum is based on your life in your home country, but cancellation of removal is based on your life in the United States.
A lawful permanent resident who has been in the U.S. for more than seven (7) years, has had lawful permanent resident status for at least five (5) years, and has not been convicted of certain crimes is eligible. In this case, an immigration judge could cancel the removal proceedings and allow you to remain, regardless of your conduct. Keep in mind that the immigration judge has wide discretion in whether to grant your application.
Think of applications for relief like a request for a pardon from your governor or the president. You are not challenging
Stage 6: Merits Hearing (maybe)
You may assume that given the stakes involved—win and you stay in the country, lose and you get deported—that you are guaranteed the right to a formal trial. But this is not necessarily the case.
The immigration judge may decide the issue of removability based solely on the written pleadings. In these cases, the court enters a removal order (or terminates removal proceedings) and send DHS and the non-citizen a written order.
This is completely unlike a typical criminal jury trial in state court, when the government must prove the defendant guilty of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt—in open court, in front of a jury, with the defendant present, and where witnesses come in and testify.
Regardless of whether you have an actual hearing, the immigration judge must determine whether there is a factual and legal basis to remove you from the United States.
Stage 7: Appeals Process
You have the right to appeal if you lose before an immigration judge. You must file a notice of appeal within 30 days of the date of the removal order.
The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) hears immigration appeals from immigration court. The BIA is not part of the judicial branch. Rather, the BIA is an executive branch administrative agency that is responsible for interpreting immigration law.
The BIA can affirm or reverse and immigration judge's removal order, so in that sense the BIA is like an appellate court in a standard criminal or civil case.
If the BIA rules against you, then you can file a petition for review in the United States Court of Appeals, which is part of the judicial branch, not the executive branch. (In immigration cases, you skip federal district courts entirely).
There are 12 regional circuit courts and each court's ruling is binding on lower courts and immigration judges within their circuit. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, for example, covers the states of Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and Hawaii.
Finally, if you lose in the Court of Appeals, you can seek review in the United States Supreme Court.
